reciprocating saw for cutting branches?

[Industrial Toys]

A saw is definitely better for cutting roots. Beats the sharp axe with dirt in your hair for sure!

 

[zzvyb6]

I have an Alligator electric chainsaw. Not a lot of maintenance because the chains not generally coming into contact with dirt and the branches are soft and thin. 2 hander, though. I also have used a Milwaukee recip saw with a coarse blade for some bushes.. Like in previous post, you have to hold the bench tight onto the limb. On my boomlift, I use an electric chainsaw mounted on my jib arm to turn all my trees into 'boxwoods'. They are square sided and look pretty funny to the low bandwidth mouth breathers.

 

[Keriken]

Hello. I own a Makita UC4051A 16 ″ chainsaw, which I was advised on TOP-1 Best Chainsaws | Beneficial Buyer’s Guide From An Experienced Handyman. This saw is perfect for a variety of purposes. It has a small weight, due to which I can cut branches at a height for a long time, it is also powerful enough to cut a whole tree.

 

[dieselscout80]

Another Old Guy suggested these: Diablo 12 in. Carbide Pruning and Clean Wood Cutting Reciprocating Saw Blade-DS123CP - The Home Depot . I bought a pack, and love them. Fast and handy, and work great for cutting roots.

Those Diablo carbide pruning reciprocating saw blades are great IMHO and I use them in both a corded saw and Ridged 18 volt saw.

 

[coxhaus]

I have been using my Milwaukee Sawzall v28 for trimming branches for years. It works well. My problem is when I need to cut over 3 inches it starts being slow. I recently bought a Dewalt 12 inch chain saw 20v only because I have Dewalt 20v batteries. It is a lot faster on the bigger branches. I have limbs fall off a large oak tree which fall almost every time the winds blows hard. I have been stacking them on my compost pile for the leaves to fall off and to when I get my big Stihl chainsaw out. I can zip through them pretty fast with my Stihl. Now with the Dewalt chainsaw I can go ahead cut the limb up. The Sawzall is too slow for me to cut up the 10 or 12 foot limbs. So now I have options.

PS
My Stihl is a 360 and too big for trimming small limbs. I use it for making firewood.

 

[RalphVa]

I have shifted to a new house and have a garden in this house. I want to trim the branches of the trees , so was thinking of buying a reciprocating saw . I want a lightweight saw which can be charged very fast. Please suggest the best available saw.

We've a couple of B&D chain 18v saws. They're great for doing a few limbs but the 18v does not have the power or lasting of the 40v Kobalt that we bought at Lowes and had to replace last year when we wore out the brushes on the original one. If you decide to go Kobalt, they have brushless ones now. They use a 24v battery. Pisses me off, as I'd like to have replaced our brushed one with these, but have the batteries also for the grass whip and lawn mower.

The best of the B&D one is the Alligator. Its only drawback is that you have to squirt oil into it every few limbs. The straight one has its own lube supply and pump.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

The recip saw blades are skinny and will bind easily.

Ralph

 

[newbury]

I use them all.
For limbs:
I've DeWalt 20V reciprocating-saw,
I had a B&D 40V, but gave it to my daughter.
I've a Lynxx 40V
I've Stihls - 021 (35CC) [and also two 660's (90CC) and an 088 (120CC)]. I used to use the 021 in trees for limbing, no more.

My favorite "limb" trimmer for up in trees was the B&D 40v. Light enough to easily 1 hand while in a tree, enough power to do the job. The reciprocating-saw doesn't work well for me unless I get the limb just right. The Lynxx seems to have a lot more power than the B&D but is heavier. The Stihl 021 is GREAT but as I age I've decided to relegate gas powered saws to ground work to help ensure I continue to age.
I'm in the market for a good, relatively light battery operated top-saw, but it needs to be < $125.

 

[Notforhire]

A couple of years ago I bought my wife a Ridgid brand reciprocating saw OCTANE™ Brushless 18V Orbital Reciprocating Saw | RIDGID Tools it has a 1 1/8 in stroke and an orbital switch feature. She did a lot of pruning with loppers and a hand limb saw, now this is her go too. She loves this saw.

We use arborist blades and I've cut stuff 6in dia. because I didn't want to walk back to the barn for the chain saw. One of the big batteries lasts all day.
I would never let her run a chain saw. This saw is much safer/lighter.

 

[jjp8182]

The recip saw blades are skinny and will bind easily.

Ralph

True, but they are also a lot cheaper to buy than a spare bar and chain :thumbsup:

(this from someone who uses both and has extra chain saws, and will use a tractor/heavy equipment to unbind blades & bars if/when they get bound)